LiverKick - LiverKick

The pivot on your foot. The rotation in your hips. The placement of your hand after the jab. The step through on your punch. The little things.

Last week’s entry led to a great discussion in the comments about these sorts of issues. As a result, they were fresh in my mind this week, and as fate would have it, they were also a big theme of this week’s training. I started the week paired up with a new sparring partner – one who was considerably above me in terms of experience. This ended up being a great thing, as he went out of his way to give me very specific pointers on ways to improve my form – all of which were very helpful and most appreciated.

The only difficulty is – there are just so many little things to remember. Let’s take one combo we worked: a relatively simple jab/cross. Combining instructor Andre’s pointers with my partner’s tips, I ended up with this list of things to watch for:

1. On the jab, snap my hand back up into place after the punch in order to protect my head.

2. Keep my hands a bit off to the side of my head, not right in front as boxers do.

3. On a double jab, don’t bring the first jab back all the way, and step forward as you bring it back so that the second punch has more forward motion.

4. Give a small pivot on the foot to the jab.

5. On the cross, pivot my whole body, especially in the hips.

6. Bring the cross back right away.

I think that’s it for this 3 punch combo, though I’m sure as I get these down there will be more to add to that list.

When I write them out and think about them one by one, each seems simple and easy to execute. But when throwing the combo at anything resembling a decent speed, it becomes much harder. I get in my head and before I know it, I’ve remembered to bring my hand back, but the second jab has come and gone and I forgot the step. Clearly the key is to drill, drill, drill. Put these motions into your muscle memory so that your brain doesn’t need to do the work – your body does it for you. I suspect that will come, and I look forward to it – because right now I can’t possibly imagine adding responding to an opponent’s moves into the mix. And luckily, I don’t have to. For now, I’ll keep my mind on the hips, the pivot, the step, the guard, the... well, the little things.

For those of you who have been training, I’m sure it varies quite a bit from person to person, but when did you notice yourself getting out of your head and letting your body guide these motions more?

And one more highly practical question for the day – best way to wash hand wraps?

Training Diary is a weekly series documenting my journey starting Muay Thai training. For more on this series, read the first entry here. I train at Conviction Fitness & Martial Arts, 4430 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL www.convictionfitness.com.

The Bad Boy will officially return to action on May 14th as Badr Hari is set to face off with Tony Gregory for It's Showtime in Lyon, France. The kickboxing world is on edge awaiting the return of the Golden Boy. Not many feel like Gregory is a worthy challenger, but regardless there is a ton of hype coming into the fight. This just proves that fans want what they want; they want Badr Hari to return to action and crush the opposition.

This interview with Badr Hari catches up with him to get his thoughts on returning to action and how he feels about competing in France, "it is a great honor to be fighting in France," he says, as he feels ready for action.

The age of the internet has led to a lot of great things, including being closer than ever to superstar athletes as they globe trot and make a bigger name for themselves. I firmly believe that Alistair Overeem's recent burst of fame has a lot to do with great management and the hype that was built up for him. Overeem's internet documentary The Reem is absolutely first class. We followed Overeem from his Strikeforce title win to his K-1 World GP win and now we follow him through the Strikeforce Heavyweight GP. This is the second episode of The Reem. [source]

It's Showtime announced today that their 85kg World Title, previouly held by Melvin Manhoef, was now vacant. According to their official statement:

"Melvin Manhoef was in possession of this title from August 2009. However, due to various reasons he hasn’t been able to defend his title. An IT’S SHOWTIME world champion has to defend his title within 1 year, and IT’S SHOWTIME is able to extend this period with another year. Because the term of maximum extension will end next August, we have decided to make this title vacant immediately."

This doesn't come as a big surprise - earlier this year I spoke with It's Showtime president Simon Rutz, who told me that Manhoef being stripped was indeed a possibility, especially since the champion had declared he likely would not compete for It's Showtime in 2011.

Manhoef won the belt in 2009, defeating Denes Racz to become the first 85kg champion. Since then, Manhoef has only fought for It's Showtime once - a 2010 fight with Gokhan Saki that took place outside the 85kg weight limit. In fact, Manhoef only has two kickboxing fights in that time, as he has been more focused on his MMA career.

While it's unfortunate to not see Manhoef competing, this is a good move. It's Showtime is really working on emphasizing their titles, and making sure that they are held by champions who will defend them. I'm glad they are sticking to their contractual promises regarding title defenses, and look forward to seeing what is next in this division. Now let's just hope we can get Orono back to defend his 65kg title soon.

Regarding the future of the belt, It's Showtime stated "We don’t know yet when and between who the next 85kg max title fight will be. Also it is not an impossibility that Melvin will fight for this title in the future."